Talathion finished cutting the last of the wildflowers and placed them in the wicker basket. The hint of grey in the sky above was usual for Ashenport, and he’d been living there for long enough that he knew that it wasn’t going to rain, at least not for another day or so.
There was just enough sunlight and few enough clouds that it was just the right sort of sky for cloud gazing. The Autumn air was brisk, but it was warm enough that he didn’t have to wear a thick cloak yet. All he really needed was to switch out his usual leather chestpiece for a long sleeve shirt and he’d be fine.
Judging by the sun’s position in the sky, it was just past noon. He’d spent the whole morning collecting flowers for Zane, and he was more than ready to take a break. He’d managed to get Merrin to convince Zane not to go to the alchemist’s today because he didn’t want Zane to waste all his time just sorting through stacks of paper alone.
He didn’t particularly care that Zane enjoyed being alone, but the sheer amount of dust he must have been inhaling can’t have been healthy. Not to mention the fact that getting Zane outside was difficult enough, there were just too many people in Ashenport, despite the fact that the population wasn’t even in the triple digits.
But Tal knew the various ways to lure Zane somewhere. Usually the promise of a hot drink, some food that he didn’t have to cook himself, and the ability to gather his own ingredients was enough to persuade Zane. The only reason that Tal was able to lure him out was because Merrin would allow it, just as long as they were back before midnight.
Tal didn’t care how protective Merrin was, or just how difficult he tried to make Tal’s life. He would put up with it for as long as they both lived if it meant he got to share that time with Zane.
Picking up the wicker basket, Tal began the short walk back to Ashenport. Organising the flowers into a bouquet would take less than an hour, and he already had the perfect wrap and ribbon in mind…
[to be continued]
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